This invention is directed to the field of incubators, an apparatus in which prematurely born infants are kept and cared for under controlled conditions. More particularly, it relates to an improved incubator system that has monitoring and communicating capabilities.
The present invention teaches an incubator system, such as for premature infants, that monitors the infant and its environment, and readily communicates the conditions to a server where patient data and images are passed along to hospital stations, and to the internet for viewing by the patient""s doctors and family. Conventional incubators are medical units which provide controlled environments for premature or otherwise delicate or sick infants. The purpose of the incubator is to isolate the infant from the outside atmosphere which might be the source of infections or which might be inadequate to aid the infant in overcoming his/her difficulty.
Infant incubators generally are provided with control means for adjusting the environment within the incubator (i.e., the temperature, humidity, and oxygen content of the atmosphere within the incubator) and display means for indicating the conditions of the environment within the incubator and the condition of an infant positioned within the incubator (i.e., respiration rate and skin temperature). All known incubators have the controls and displays mounted on the front of the base of the incubator and below the hood. This location of the controls and displays is inconvenient to those attending to the care of an infant within the incubator. One must bend down to read the displays and, when the front door of the incubator is open to provide complete access to an infant, one must work around the open front door. In addition, in order to observe the displays which indicate the conditions within the incubator and the condition of the infant, one must be right at the incubator and cannot observe these displays from a remote location.
The prior art teaches a number of improvements to these conventional medical units and related devices to avoid some of the problems noted above. However, other problems were introduced. Nevertheless, the prior art is reflected by the following U.S. Patents:
a.) U.S. Pat. No. 6,011,477, to Teodorescu et al., teaches a monitoring system that includes a first sensor for detecting the respiration and/or movements of an infant and an optional second sensor for detecting the presence and/or movement of the infant or proximal objects surrounding the infant. An optional accelerometric sensor detects movements of a platform supporting the infant and contributes supplementary movement data to the monitoring system. An optional audio sensor detects sounds associated with the infant or proximal objects. None of the sensors are physically attached to the infant. A controller conditions and processes the various sensor signals and generates alarms by interpreting the sensor signals. The controller optionally communicates with a remote control unit. In one embodiment the first sensor signal is filtered to extract respiration-and nonrespiration-related signals that are processed by a signal processor, which compares the extracted signals to thresholds, and if neither signal exceeds its threshold for a predetermined time, a low signal alarm is generated. In another embodiment, the signal processor determines whether a respiration decay period is less than a threshold value, and if not, generates a respiration decay alarm.
b.) U.S. Pat. No. 5,453,077, to Donnelly et al., is directed to an infant thermal support device which provides convective heat transfer similar to an incubator yet which allows for unlimited care provider access to the infant without compromising the infant""s thermal environment. The device has an infant support with head and foot ends and lateral sides, and provides a heated curtain of air traveling over an infant on the support to maintain the temperature of the infant at an appropriate level. Vertically oriented curtains of air travel upwardly from the lateral edges and at least one end of the support. The device provides warmth to the infant on the support by virtue of the heated air curtain, and the vertically oriented air curtains reduced perturbations of the heated air curtain caused by physical disturbances adjacent to the device such that a canopy enclosing the device is not required. The device further comprises a raisable and lowerable canopy and infrared heater, such that the device can function as either an infant radiant warmer, an incubator or both. Sensors mounted on the device sense disturbances around the device and the position of the canopy and vary the speeds of the heated air curtain and perturbation reducing curtains accordingly.
c.) U.S. Pat. No. 5,446,934, to Frazier, relates to a baby holding pen or crib, and includes automatic position adjusting, monitoring, and interactive communication means, including alarms, for communicating information to and from the crib or pen from a remote location. Such means include interactive audio and visual means, such as prerecorded messages and preprogrammed tactile simulation. The crib includes a combination of a bed surface that is adjustable in both longitudinal and lateral angles; a heating and cooling means to maintain the crib, area at a comfortable temperature; speakers that play back prerecorded sounds to the baby such as a recording of a mother""s soothing voice or instructions to attendants to the location of the crib; visual sensing equipment, such as video monitors, including alarms to remind an attendant of feeding time, diaper changing time, bathing time, or medicine dosage time; and a plurality of sensors, including temperature sensors, vital function sensors, and the like.
d.) U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,415, to Storti et al., teaches an infant incubator in which the controls and displays are provided in a module which is in proximity to but spaced from and above the hood of the incubator at generally the eye-level of a standing adult.
e.) U.S. Pat. No. 5,183,457, to Gatts et al., is directed to an infant environmental transition system which provides an infant with a controlled, healthy transition from an intrauterine environment to the extrauterine environment. The system includes a housing within which the infant is supported by a soft, form-fitting bed. Environmental conditions provided within the housing include simulated motions, sounds and tactile sensations resembling the intrauterine environment. A suspension and drive system controls the degree of movement imparted to the housing and to an infant supported therein. The resulting motion closely approximates the motion experienced by the fetus while the mother is walking. The sound profile simulates intrauterine cardiovascular and gastrointestinal sounds. The system simulates day and night variations in motions and sounds, integrates changes to the environment over time toward the natural extrauterine environment, and may respond to infant activity or other inputs at various intervals.
f.) U.S. Pat. No. 5,006,105, to Sherard, relates to an apparatus setting forth a therapy apparatus for newborn infants, including a cabinet member mounting life monitoring equipment and storage compartments therewithin. The apparatus includes a planar top surface mounting a chamber, with the chamber including transparent side panels and an extensible and contractable cover housing to permit ease of access to the infant, with the housing including slot members hingedly mounted together and securable within opposed lateral tracks. The tracks farther include photo-therapy illumination members extending longitudinally of the slats, and further including a support cushion positionable upon a floor of the cavity.
While the prior art offer some solutions to the need for providing better control of the operating systems for monitoring the environment of an incubator, none present a system for controlling, monitoring and communicating data and images to remote locations, where such a system is so important to the care of a new born infant, for example. The manner by which the present invention achieves these goals will become more apparent from the description which follows, particularly to those skilled in the art.
The present invention is directed to the combination of an incubator and a system for controlling, monitoring and communicating data and images to remote locations. The combination includes an incubator having a transparent enclosure adapted to receive an infant supporting means in a controlled environment. The system within the incubator includes a ventilating system, operable by a fan and motor, to control the atmospheric environment within the enclosure, a weight scale to monitor changes in weight of the infant, a pair of cameras trained at different angles on the infant. a microphone/speaker system for transmitting sounds into and out of said incubator, and an on site x-ray means. Externally, the incubator features a control console, a touchscreen display panel with processor to control various functions of the incubator, and a primary display panel to monitor functions within the incubator. Finally, in communication with the internal components and external features is a hub interface, a central station server having a modem, and an internet server having a second modem in communication with the central station server. Further, the second modem is in communication with a world wide internet system for pictorial accessing images and data from the incubator.
Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide an improved incubator system, such as for the handling of premature infants, where the incubator includes means for monitoring, controlling and easy communication with the environment of the incubator for medical personnel and family.
A further object hereof is the provision of including plural cameras within the incubator to allow receipt of images therefrom.
Still another object of the invention lies in the incorporation of an integrated weight scale to weigh the infant without disturbing the infant nor altering its environment.
Another object lies in the incorporation of x-ray means within the incubator.
These and other objects will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the description which follows.